What are eggs and soldiers?
Eggs and soldiers are a classic English breakfast meal. Due to the playful nature of having toast soldiers, as well as the simplicity of the ingredients and preparation method, they are often presented as a children's meal. As such they give a feeling of home, comfort, and parental affection. Description Eggs and soldiers, also known as Eggy soldiers, consist of eggs that have been soft-boiled, with the tops taken off, and toast that is cut into thin strips known as fingers or soldiers. There are many variants of Eggs and soldiers, including frying the eggs as an over easy style. This means the egg white (or albumen) is cooked, but the yolk remains runny. These are also referred to as dippy eggs in parts of the United States and Canada, mainly due to the practice of dipping toast into the yolk while eating. In the United Kingdom Marmite soldiers, and in Australia Vegemite soldiers are also a common variant, where the toast is spread with Marmite or Vegemite and then cut into thin strips. Nutritional facts While there is some debate over the health impacts of eating eggs and cholesterol levels, boiled eggs supply significant amounts of the recommended daily intake of several vitamins and minerals. This includes Vitamin A and Vitamin B12. This does not appear to differ significantly between different egg varieties, but there is evidence that free range eggs are slightly healthier. The nutritional value of buttered toast soldiers varies significantly depending on the type of bread used, and the amount and type of spread used. It has been suggested that toast can contain Acrylamide - a cancer causing chemical found in starchy foods that have been cooked. It is also suggested that burnt toast contains higher amounts of Acrylamide. While it is true that toasted bread does contain Acrylamide, to reach a level where this may cause cancer a person they would need to eat 39 pieces of burnt toast every day. History The history of cooking eggs and toast can be traced back to ancient times. Eggs have been a valuable food stuff since pre-history, with evidence of the farming of chickens leading back over 9,500 years ago. These were introduced to Egypt as early as 1,500 BCE, and to Greece about 800 BCE. There is evidence that bread has existed since the formation of society. The Ancient Egyptians left evidence that bread was a major staple in their society - including bread making equipment, including mills for making flour from wheat, and ovens - and artistic depictions of the bread making process. Eating eggs and toast together were considered a part of a standard breakfast for many years, and inspired in people a feeling of home, warmth, and cosiness. Wind in the willows by Kenneth Grahame describes eating both eggs and buttered toast for breakfast. The earliest date that can be located where toast sliced into thin strips being referred to as "soldiers" dates back to roughly 1965. This is in a series of advertisements made for the Egg Marketing Board starring comedy actor Tony Hancock, who was well known in the UK and Australia at the time. With the way the word is used in the advert, it appears that this may have been in common use.